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Cold War Review
AP EUROPEAN HISTORY
The Cold War


The Cold War was a diplomatic (ideological) crisis
which occurred between the United States (and its
Western bloc) and the USSR (and its Eastern bloc).
The Cold War resulted from a variety of
disagreements and problems which surfaced after
the end of WWII.




Archangel
Truman Doctrine
Marshall Plan
Unification of West Germany
The “Iron Curtain”


1946: Churchill called the Soviet domination of E.
Europe the “Iron Curtain.”
Stalin held a series of unfair elections and coups to
install communist puppets in most of the E. European
nations.
 Poland:
1947
 Czechoslovakia: 1948
 Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and Yugoslavia: 1946-47
The West Takes a Stand


The USSR was supporting communist rebels in
Greece & Turkey.
Truman asked Congress for money to aid the
governments to withstand the rebels’ assaults.
 This
became the Truman Doctrine, stating that the US
would provide aid to any free nation fighting off
communism.
 The Truman Doctrine became the basis of the US policy
of “containment.”
Military Alliances

The lines between the Western Bloc and the Eastern
Bloc were formally drawn with the creation of two
alliances.
 1949:
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization):
designed to protect W. Europe from Communist
aggression
 1955: Warsaw Pact: designed to protect E. Europe
from capitalist influence.
The Marshall Plan


1947-1951: The US provided $9.4 billion in
economic assistance to Western Europe to help
Europe rebuild after WWII.
This aid was provided, in part, so that western
European nations could resist the pull of communism.
The Division of Germany

The Big three agreed at Potsdam on the division of
Germany.
 Britain,
France, the US, and the USSR each controlled
one zone of occupation.

The western powers wanted to see the economic
and political restructuring of Germany, while the
USSR wanted to maintain Germany as a communist
buffer state.
Crisis in Germany

Spring, 1948: The western powers introduced a
new currency into their zones and requested the
reunification of the zones.
 Stalin
refused to allow a democratic Germany and
withheld his zone from the German constitutional
convention.
 The western powers decided to proceed without him
and continued to help Germany construct a new
constitution.
The Berlin Blockade



Stalin responded to western actions by blockading
the city of West Berlin.
The allies responded to the blockade with a massive
airlift which supplied the city for 321 days.
Stalin was forced to withdraw his blockade in
1949--a major defeat for the Soviets.
Two Germanies


In response to the Berlin blockade, the western
powers joined their zones into a free nation: the
Federal Republic of Germany.
Stalin later made his zone into the German
Democratic Republic, another Soviet puppet state.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
AFTER WWII
Western Europe
West Germany


By the 1950’s, West Germany had evolved into a
stable two-party democracy [Christian Democratic
Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD)].
Konrad Adenauer (CDU) (Chancellor: 1949-1967)
led W. Germany towards closer ties with the US
and the other W. European nations.
West Germany, continued


Following the death of Adenauer, Willy Brandt
(SPD) took over and began a process called
Ostpolitik, which meant he tried to open diplomatic
contacts and with Eastern Europe.
Brandt formally recognized E. Germany and
accepted the post-war settlements in the east, thus
easing tensions with the USSR, Poland and
Czechoslovakia.
Post-war Italy



Following WWII, Italy adopted a new constitution
which brought the Italian monarchy to an end and
created a democratic republic (which still is there
today).
Two major parties dominated the new government:
the communists (because they had been anti-fascist
during the war) and the Christian Democratic Party.
Italy remained in the W. European bloc.
Post-war France

The 4th French Republic was formed after WWII,
but it was plagued by the frequent changes in
government ministries and by factionalism.
 France
had many small parties and so they all had to
rely on multi-party coalitions to implement their policies.

Women in France voted in parliamentary elections
for the first time in 1946.
Fifth French Republic


Using the Algerian crisis as a pretext, DeGaulle
created the 5th French Republic in 1958, giving the
French President much more power.
DeGaulle used his power to build an independent
France and to try to make France somewhat
independent of America.
Economic Recovery in Western
Europe

Marshall Plan aid was used to provide the financial
underpinnings for the post-war economic recovery
and expansion of W. Europe.
 This
growth lasted until the economic downturn of the
early 1970’s.
Economic Recovery


For approximately a decade after the war,
worker’s wages failed to keep up with economic
growth.
To offset the potential social problems this could
have caused, most W. European governments
provided social welfare protection programs for
their citizens.
Post-war Great Britain


The British Labor Party tried to direct national
policy toward solving many problems, such as
inadequate housing for workers, poor safety
standards and wages in industries, and lack of
security in employment.
The Labor Party concentrated on many issues that
had been big problems since the industrial
revolution.
Britain, continued



To avoid social unrest, the government enacted a
variety of reforms.
The British government nationalized the Bank of
England, the railways, the airlines, and the coal &
steel industries.
The government also established old-age pensions,
unemployment insurance, allowances for childrearing, and the National Health Service.
Reforms in Europe



France and West Germany also faced many of the
same social and economic problems that were found
in Britain.
The French communist party was somewhat powerful
after WWII and forced many socialist reforms.
West Germany also adopted many similar reforms
to bring recovery and stability after the war.
The Cost of Reform

The economic cost of these social & economic
reforms was long debated.
 Because
the 1990’s process of globalization often had
a negative effect for the nations of W. Europe, (with
their high wages and very comprehensive social welfare
programs), they often found it much harder to compete
in the global marketplace.

Under Margaret Thatcher, there was a significant
rollback of the Br. welfare state.
Implementation of Economic Reforms

1951: Formation of the European Coal & Steel
Community.
 Goal:
to coordinate the production of coal & steel and
to prevent some of the economic competition that had
served as a cause for previous 20th century wars.
Economic Reforms, cont.

1958: Formation of the European Common Market
(now the European Economic Community--EC)
 The
EC was established to eliminate custom duties
among the participating nations and to establish a
common tariff on imports from the rest of the world.
European Union

1991: Members of the European Union (European
Parliament) signed the Maastrict treaty in 1991 in
Maastrict, Netherlands.
 Goal:
to establish a common European currency and a
central banking structure by 1999.
 The Euro is currently in use in member nations.
Map 30–1 THE GROWTH OF THE EUROPEAN UNION This map traces the growth of
membership in the European Union from its founding in 1957 through the introduction of
its newest members in 2004. Note that Turkey though having applied for membership has
not yet been admitted.
The Eastern European Satellites



Following WWII, the USSR set as a priority the
establishment of a system of satellite states in E.
Europe.
The USSR created the Warsaw Pact in 1955 to
establish military control of its satellites.
Economic conditions remained poor in most E.
European nations, due to a lack of capital for
economic development.
CRISIS IN EASTERN EUROPE
Examples: post WWII to Bosnian Crisis
The Soviet Union Under
Khrushchev


Soviet Communist leader Nikita
Khrushchev wanted to keep the
dominance of the Communist Party
but does reform some of Stalin’s
policies
 decentralized economic planning
and removed restrictions on
private cultivations of wheat
The Secret Speech of 1956 –
Khrushchev denounces Stalin’s
policies and purges and removes
Stalin supporters from the
government without executing them
(destalinization)
Poland



1956: Economic and political conditions similar to
those found in E. Germany set off a series of strikes
in Poland.
The Polish government, working with the USSR, sent
its troops into the streets to stop the strikers.
This protest brought a slight raise in workers wages
and was viewed as a success by the people, despite
the bloodshed.
Hungary

1956: Inspired by the Polish revolt of 1956, Imre
Nagy of Hungary encouraged a variety of reforms.
 Reforms
included the creation of a multi-party state
with Nagy as premier, a call for respect of human
rights, the ending of political ties with the USSR, the
release of many political prisoners, the creation of
Hungary as a neutral nation, and the removal of
Hungary from the Warsaw Pact.
Hungary, continued


In response to Nagy’s demonstrations, the Soviets
decided to make an example of Hungary to
prevent it from threatening their control of their
whole system of satellite states.
The Soviets invaded Hungary, killing thousands and
setting up a police state. Reprisals were brutal.
American-Soviet Tensions

Despite a visit to the US in 1959, tension was high
between the superpowers.
 1959:
 1960:
 1961:
 1961:
 1962:
Sputnik
U-2 Incident
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Berlin Wall
Cuban Missile Crisis
Sputnik





USSR launches first satellite into space
Followed by Sputnik II, which carries first live animal
to space, a dog named Liaka.
U.S. responds with the NASA program
Begins the space race.
WHY was the space race an important part of the
Cold War?
U-2 spy plane incident






U.S. had been running spy operations over the skies of the
Soviet Union for years.
Eisenhower U.S. President, Khrushchev USSR Premier
Pilot Francis Gary Powers U2 Spy plane shot down flying a
reconnaissance mission over USSR, and captured before he
could take cyanide pill on May 1, 1960
Convicted of espionage in USSR with 3 years in prison and 7
years of hard labor
Great embarrassment for US and deteriorated Soviet/US
relations
1962, US did a prisoner exchange with Soviets, trading Soviet
officer and spy Rudolf Abel for Powers.
Bay of Pigs



Failed US. Military invasion sponsored by the CIA
and Cuban exiles on April 17, 1961 to oust Cuban
President Fidel Castro.
Huge embarrassment for US and further strained
relations between US and other communist nations
including Soviets.
Black eye on Kennedy administration and the CIA.
Cuban Missile Crisis






13 day confrontation between the Soviets and the U.S. over missile
instillations being constructed in Cuba.
This event marks the closest the two nations came to nuclear war during the
Cold War, and marked the first time discussing of MAD (mutually assured
destruction was discussed between the two nations.
JFK battles his military to try to resolve issue diplomatically and not
militarily
US blockaded Cuba and called out Soviets for their actions at the UN.
In Secret negotiations, JFK, Khrushcheve and UN Secretary General U Thant
came to agreement, and U.S. removed missiles from turkey, while Soviets
removed missiles from Cuba
It is rumored that before negotiations had been settled, the Kremlin had
ordered Soviet submarines to launch nuclear warheads at America, but the
Sub commanders hesitated because no one wanted to start a nuclear war,
and this hesitation aloud diplomatic negotiations to be reached.
Berlin Wall



Constructed by East Germany beginning August of
1961 to completely cut off West Berlin from East
Germany.
Prevented massive emigration of East Germans into
West berlin during the Cold War.
November 9, 1989 East Germany announced that
East Germans could visit west Berlin and West
Germany, marking the fall of the Berlin wall and
paved the way for German re-unification.
The Berlin Wall


Political and Economic conditions in E. Germany and
many other Eastern bloc nations remained so poor
that millions were fleeing through West Berlin to
freedom in western nations.
The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to stop the flow of
refugees to the west.
 This
was seen and publicized as a barbaric move and
became a visible symbol of the cold war conflicts.
Detente

Since the Cuban Missile Crisis had brought the
superpowers so close to war, both sides decided to
embrace a degree of détente, or peaceful
coexistence.
 Missile

negotiations
Détente was seen as a sign of weakness in the USSR
and Khruschev was ousted by 1964.
The Brezhnev Years



Brezhnev replaced Khruschev in 1964 and ruled the
USSR until his death in 1982.
Although he did not reinstate the terror of the Stalin
era, he did seek to once again strengthen the role
of the Communist party bureaucracy and the KGB.
Brezhnev also clamped down on reform movements
in the E. European satellite states and called for a
“new cold war.”
Eastern Europe


1968: Prague Spring: led by Alexander Dubcek, this
reform movement in Czechoslovakia attempted to bring
about “socialism with a human face,” while still remaining
in the Soviet Bloc.
Brezhnev saw this as a threat to the entire Warsaw Pact
and initiated the Brezhnev Doctrine [The USSR would support with all means
necessary (including military) any E. European communist state threatened by internal strife or external
invasion.]
 This
was used as justification for the invasion of
Czechoslovakia, ending reform.
The Invasion of Czechoslovakia


Russian forces under the
orders of Soviet premier,
invade Czechoslovakia and
take more liberal communist
leader Alexander Dubcek out
of power
In the summer of 1968, Soviet
tanks rolled into
Czechoslovakia, ending that
country’s experiment in
liberalized communism
Détente with the United States




Détente is the easing of strained
relations between the Soviet
Union and the United States, a
thawing at a period roughly in
the middle of the Cold War.
In the Soviet Union, détente was
known in Russian: loosely meaning
relaxation
President Richard Nixon and
Brezhnev conclude agreements on
trade and reduction of nuclear
arms
Soviets pursue activist foreign
policy maneuvers in many African
nations, Nicaragua, and Vietnam
Détente in the Late 70s



Under Gerald Ford, the US and USSR
sign the SALT (Strategic Arms
Limitation Treaty)
the United States, along with the
Soviet Union and other European
nations, also sign Helsinki Accord
recognizing the Soviet sphere of
Eastern Europe as long as human
rights are protected
President Jimmy Carter demands the
Soviets follow the Helsinki Accord,
cooling relations between the
countries
End of Détente






The Soviet Union, wanting more of a
presence in the Middle East, invades
Afghanistan
United States sends aid sent to Afghan
rebels, which included radical
Muslims(al quada)
The invasion fails, weakening and
demoralizing Soviets
Future SALT talks are abandoned
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that
was to shore up a struggling allied
regime led to harsh criticisms in the
west and a boycott of the 1980
Summer Olympics, which were to be
held in Moscow.
The 1980 American presidential
election saw Ronald Reagan elected on
a platform opposed to the concessions
of Détente.
Iran hostage scandal


Group of Iranian
students took over
the U.S. embassy
in Iran and held
captive 52
Americans for
444 days.
Led to downfall
of Carter and
elections of
Ronald Reagon.
Communism in Poland


Protest strikes led by Lech
Walesa, occur across the
country in response to the
rise in meat prices
September 1980 – Polish
Communist Party replaced
by independent union
called Solidarity
Response to Solidarity


1981 – General Wojciech Jaruzelski becomes
head of the Communist Party, declares martial law
and arrests Solidarity leaders
Pope John Paul II – Polish papal who was an
outspoken critic of communism
President Ronald Reagan
and Soviet Relations


Reagan in his first term,
intensifies Cold War rhetoric,
increases military spending, slows
arms limitations, and plans to
deploy a Strategic Defense
Initiative
Russians in response increase
military spending even though
they couldn’t afford to eventually
bringing the country to economic
collapse
Revolution in E. Europe



Reform policies of Mikhail Gorbachev prevented
the USSR from interfering in E. European internal
affairs.
This led to a series of revolutions in 1989 in
Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Albania, East
Germany, and Romania.
These nations started on the road to democracy and
market economies and faced many political and
economic struggles in the 1990’s.
The Reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev

Economic perestroika – or “restructuring”
reduced size and importance of the
centralized economic ministries



advocated private ownership of property and
the steering of the economy towards a free
market system
economic policies fail as economy remains
stagnant
Glasnost or openness- Gorbachev allows
criticism of the government, less censorship,
free expression encouraged and dissidents
released from prison
The USSR


Gorbachev’s policies of glastnost (opening) and
perestroika (restructuring) combined with the
political transformation of the Soviet satellites to
create a desire for change in the Soviet population.
Disasters such as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
and the Chernobyl nuclear accident revealed the
deplorable state of affairs within the nation.
East Germany



A flood of refugees traveled from E. Germany to Hungary
where Hungary allowed their free passage to W.
Germany.
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the end of the
Communist regime that had oppressed many since 1945.
1990: Reunification of East and West Germany.
Problems in the USSR

Gorbachev saw the need for change but wanted
the Communist party to lead and control the
changes.
 His
economic changes were very slow and reformers,
such as Boris Yeltsin, wanted him to speed up the
process.

1990: The Soviet government was forced to allow
the political participation of non-Communist parties.
More Problems


As the political and economic structure of the USSR
began to collapse, nationalist movements throughout
the USSR also popped up, beginning with the
declaration of independence by Lithuania.
Other republics, such as Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine,
Belarus, Georgia, Kazakistan, and Uzbekitan soon
followed.
 By
1992, 17 republics had broken away.
Revolution in Russia

December 1990: Gorbachev appointed a few
hard-liners to government positions hoping to stop
the tide of rebellion.
 Hard
liners were very concerned about the break away
republics and wanted to stop the secessionist movement.

This move backfired and started a rivalry between
Gorbachev and Yeltsin (a reformer and Chairman
of the Russian Parliament)
The coup d’etat

August 1991: While Gorbachev was on vacation, the
hard-line communists staged a coup and placed him under
house arrest in his summer home in the Crimea.
 This
was done because the hard-liners feared that Gorbachev’s
policies were threatening the existence of the Communist party.

Yeltsin bravely stood atop a tank outside the parliament
building and led the resistance, thus becoming the popular
hero of the revolution.
The Coup Fails



As a result of Yeltsin’s leadership and the popular
support for the reform movement, the coup failed,
and the hard-liners were discredited.
August 1991-December 1991: More of the Soviet
republics continued to break away, further
weakening the USSR.
December 1991: The USSR was dissolved and
Gorbachev resigned.
Problems in Russia



The Commonwealth of Independent States was formed in
1992, but was ineffective and short-lived because breakaway republics feared that Russia had too much power in
the confederacy.
The new Russian Republic faced serious political, social,
and economic challenges, many of which still continue,
today.
The mob became very influential in Russia and many
break-away republics, as well.
Russia under Yeltsin and Putin

Yeltsin’s troubled reign
 Yeltsin supported by the West puts
down Parliament protest that
attempts to overthrow him
 new Parliament and constitution
voted on in 1993
 Russia at war with Islamic province
of Chechnya still to this day
 economic downturn due to
corruption by the “oligarchs”,
defaults on international debts and
political assassinations
 Yeltsin resigns in 1998 and is
replaced by Vladimir Putin
Chechnya



More trouble with Chechnya as Putin renews
war and spawns a major act of terrorism in
which Chechens take over an elementary
school, take 1,200 hostages and eventually
when confronted by troops kill 330 people,
mostly children
Putin in response centralizes power more
Russia today




Putin’s Russia still more democratic than the
Soviets even with his concentration of power
corruption and violent crime on the rise
economy stagnant, social and educational
systems in decay
life expectancy declining
Civil War and the Collapse of
Yugoslavia


Yugoslav leader Tito keeps the many
different ethnic and national groups
under control – his death eventually
leads the country into chaos and civil
war
Nationalist leaders Slobodan
Milosevic in Serbia and Franjo
Tudjman in Croatia gain authority
Yugoslavia and Civil War


1991 – Slovenia and Croatia declare
independence from Yugoslavia
civil war erupts in 1992 between
Serbs and Croatians




Serbia accuses Croatia of fascism / while
Croatia accuses Serbia of being a Stalinist
regime
both forces attempt to divide up BosniaHerzegovina
Muslims in Bosnia are caught in the middle
and are subject to “ethnic cleansing” by
the Serbs
Balkanization
The Bosnian Settlement


Due to the atrocities that were being done by the
Serbs, the US and other NATO nations got involved
to stop the killing.
This led to the US-brokered Dayton Accords of
1995 which ushered in an era of precarious peace
in Bosnia.
 The
US and UN sent peacekeepers to protect the
Bosnian Muslims.
 War Crimes trials were held to convict those responsible
for the ethnic cleansing.
Problems in Africa








As independence and nationalist movements swept across
Eastern Europe and the former Soviet states, African nationalist
movements led to many problems as well.
Rwanda
South Africa
Terrorism
9/11
Osama Bin Laden
Al Quada
Darfur
Rwanda



Rwanda-nationalist movements in Rwanda led to the
mass genocide of the minority Tutsis by the Hutu
majority
During the approximate 100-day period from
April 7, 1994 to mid-July, an estimated 500,000–
1,000,000 Rwandans were killed.
Many were charged with war crimes including rape
and murder. (War rape led to an AIDS epidemic in
Rwanda and its neighboring countries)
South Africa/Apartheid



Apartheid, which means a state of being apartheid, was the racial based
system that ruled in South Africa from 1948-1994, in which the minority
whites ruled and segregated life over the majority black Africans.
Apartheid sparked significant internal resistance and violence, and a
long arms and trade embargo against South Africa.[10] Since the 1950s, a
series of popular uprisings and protests was met with the banning of
opposition and imprisoning of anti-apartheid leaders.
in 1990 President Frederik Willem de Klerk begannegotiations to end
apartheid,[11] culminating in multi-racial democratic elections in 1994, won
by the African National Congressunder Nelson Mandela
The New enemy/Terrorism





9/11
Al Quada
Saddam Hussein
Osama Bin Laden
Terrorism Today